This blog was written by Mr. Joe McClung. This blog is about Mr. McClung's first year as a teacher. I really enjoyed reading this blog, because this helps students when they become teachers for the first time. I feel better when I read something that lets me know that I am not the only person who is scared and nervous about teaching for the first time. I loved how he says that teachers should communicate with their students and other teachers. Communication is a huge way to express how you feel and to get to know people. If you become friends with other teachers, then if you have a question you have someone you can talk to. When you communicate with your students, then they do the best they can in your class. I know with me the more I like the teacher, the more time I spend on that particular class. When I become a teacher I want my students to know that they can come and talk to me and know that I will listen to what they have to say.
Mr. McClung also talks about how teachers never stop learning. I believe this is very true and a good thing. A teacher should always be learning new things, because your student is doing the same thing. The way technology is today, there is no reason for anyone not to learn something new everyday! My favorite part of this blog post is when Mr. McClung says, "You may be the only person that does. Below is an example of a answer that one of my students listed on their end of the year survey that really spoke to me: I know my teacher cares about me as a person when he. - Listens to what I say." This really makes me what to be a teacher like Mr. McClung. I want my students to say that I listen to them and that I help them in anyway that I can.
What I learned this Year (2010-11)
This blog was also written by Mr. McClung. I also really enjoyed reading this blog. This blog is about Mr. McClung's fourth year of teaching. He talks about how teachers should not get comfortable, they should always be finding ways to change up the way they teach. Not all students learn the same way, so as a teacher you will have to be able to explain something in many different ways. He also talks about how as a teacher you should have a goal set for your students, but you should not scold them for not meeting your expectations. Mr. McClung says to not make your goal for your student's unreachable. We as teachers should lift our students spirits when they fail, not break them down.
Mr. McClung also talks about helping your students, without doing the work for them. I know I am bad about this. When someone asks me how to do something, it is so much easier to just do it yourself then to explain how to do it. This is something that I am trying not to do, because this will only hurt my students in the long run. My favorite part of this blog is how he says that it is okay to be the outsider. I loved how Mr. McClung eats lunch with his students and acts like his students. I love being around kids, and I will even admit that I act like them sometimes. I hope that I will be a teacher just like Mr. McClung!
Hi Candace, I really enjoyed your post. I agree that this was great to hear the perspective of a first year teacher. I think that is the biggest adjustment we will have to make, -our first year- going from a student to a teacher. I'm sure there will be much that we aren't completely prepared for. I'm thankful for this class and others like this that give us insight to realistic scenarios we are surely going to come up against.
ReplyDeleteI also chose the first and third year posts for my blog post #9 and you highlighted the main points very well. Listening to the students and making them a priority may make us outsiders and that will be difficult to do but I will do my best to find a middle ground and hopefully a "class mom" like McClung suggests. Having someone familiar with the ins and outs of current situations in the school will be a big advantage for newbies like us.
Keep up the excellent work!
Candace,
ReplyDeleteGood post. It sounds like you found Mr. McClung's blog very enlightening! Good job on the clickable links and pictures with alt and title modifiers just be sure to put the source of the picture as the actual website that you found the picture (not just Google Images).